With the proliferation of smartphones, tablets, and other connected mobile devices, wireless consumers are increasingly using the mobile Web as a primary gateway to the Internet. According to Cisco, the resulting mobile data traffic is growing at 108% from 2010 to 2014 and it is expected to reach 3.6 Petabytes of data per month on 2014, a 25× increase. Current carrier networks that rely solely on 3G or 4G protocol to shoulder the burden of this ever increasing demand are being stretched to the limits of their networks.
A smartphone is a mobile phone built on a mobile operating system, with more advanced computing capability and connectivity than a feature phone. Later models of smartphones include the functionality of portable media players, low-end compact digital cameras, pocket video cameras, and GPS navigation units to form one multi-use device. Conventional smartphones also include high-resolution touchscreens and web browsers that display standard web pages as well as mobile-optimized sites. High-speed data access is provided by Wi-Fi and mobile broadband. One of the most significant differences is that the advanced application programming interfaces (APIs) on smartphones for running third-party applications can allow those applications to have better integration with the phone's OS and hardware than is typical with feature phones. In comparison, feature phones more commonly run on proprietary firmware.
3G, short for 3rd Generation, is a term used to represent the 3rd generation of mobile telecommunications technology. 3G is a set of standards used for mobile devices and mobile telecommunication services and networks that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. 3G finds application in wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV.
Several telecommunications companies market wireless mobile Internet services as 3G, indicating that the advertised service is provided over a 3G wireless network. Services advertised as 3G are required to meet IMT-2000 technical standards, including standards for reliability and speed (data transfer rates). To meet the IMT-2000 standards, a system is required to provide peak data rates of at least 200 kbit/s (about 0.2 Mbit/s). However, many services advertised as 3G provide higher speed than the minimum technical requirements for a 3G service. Recent 3G releases, often denoted 3.5G and 3.75G, also provide mobile broadband access of several Mbit/s to smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers.
The following standards are typically branded 3G: the UMTS system, first offered in 2001, standardized by 3GPP, used primarily in Europe, Japan, China (however with a different radio interface) and other regions predominated by GSM 2G system infrastructure. The cell phones are typically UMTS and GSM hybrids. Several radio interfaces are offered, sharing the same infrastructure. The original and most widespread radio interface is called W-CDMA. The TD-SCDMA radio interface was commercialized in 2009 and is only offered in China. The latest UMTS release, HSPA+, can provide peak data rates up to 56 Mbit/s in the downlink in theory (28 Mbit/s in existing services) and 22 Mbit/s in the uplink. The CDMA2000 system, first offered in 2002, standardized by 3GPP2, used especially in North America and South Korea, sharing infrastructure with the IS-95 2G standard. The cell phones are typically CDMA2000 and IS-95 hybrids. The latest release EVDO Rev B offers peak rates of 14.7 Mbit/s downstream.
3G is based on spread spectrum radio transmission technology. While the GSM EDGE standard (“2.9G”), DECT cordless phones and Mobile WiMAX standards formally also fulfill the IMT-2000 requirements and are approved as 3G standards by ITU, these are typically not branded 3G, and are based on completely different technologies.
4G is also known as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards that is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In year 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced (International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced) requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s for high mobility communication (such as from trains and cars) and 1 Gbit/s for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users). 4G features includes smooth handoff across heterogeneous networks, seamless connectivity and global roaming across multiple networks, high quality of service for next generation multimedia support (real time audio, high speed data, HDTV video content, mobile TV, etc.), interoperability with existing wireless standards, an all IP, packet switched network, IP-based femtocells (home nodes connected to fixed Internet broadband infrastructure).
Wi-Fi allows an electronic device to exchange data wirelessly (using radio waves) over a computer network, including high-speed Internet connections. Wi-Fi” is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance and the brand name for products using the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. The Wi-Fi Alliance defines Wi-Fi as any “wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards”. However, since most modern WLANs are based on these standards, the term “Wi-Fi” is used as a synonym for “WLAN”. A device that can use Wi-Fi (such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, tablet, or digital audio player) can connect to a network resource such as the Internet via a wireless network access point (AP). Such an access point (or hotspot) has a range of about 20 meters (65 feet) indoors and a greater range outdoors. Hotspot coverage can comprise an area as small as a single room with walls that block radio waves, or as large as many square miles, which is achieved by using multiple overlapping access points.